An upside-down tomato garden isn’t a new idea, but it’s become more popular in recent years. Most people grow tomato plants upside down to save space and reduce soil borne pests. We’ll talk about the pros and cons and decide if this is something you should do or if it’s just a passing trend.
It’s a familiar end-of-season scene for many gardeners – tomato plants heavy with still-green tomatoes once autumn’s chill sets in. Determined not to lose your hard-earned harvest you face the dilemma – pull the plants or find a way to coax those remaining tomatoes to full red ripeness. But there’s a unique solution that just might do the trick – hanging your tomato plants upside down.
This unusual technique for ripening green tomatoes as the season winds down keeps your plants alive and able to continue ripening While it may seem odd, suspending upside-down tomato plants in a protected spot allows the green tomatoes to gradually redden over weeks.
Curious how hanging upside down ripening works and whether you should try it? Here’s what you need to know:
Why Try Upside Down Ripening?
End-of-season weather poses a threat to ripening tomatoes still clinging to fading vines. Cool nights and shorter days slow further ripening. While you could pick the green tomatoes and attempt to ripen them indoors, this takes time and success is mixed.
Hanging plants upside down provides an unconventional alternative that offers several advantages:
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Keeps plants alive so they can keep ripening The hanging positions keeps the plants viable for 2-3 more weeks
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Allows airflow around tomatoes needed to prevent mold and rot as they ripen.
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Leverages the plant’s natural ripening hormones and processes.
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Requires minimal effort compared to checking individual fruit daily.
If you have a surplus of green tomatoes, it makes sense to employ all possible ripening strategies. Give upside down hanging a try along with windowsills and countertop ripening.
How the Upside Down Hanging Method Works
This novel approach takes advantage of a still-living plant’s natural ripening processes. Follow this approach:
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Select only vigorous, healthy plants with no disease or frost damage.
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Hang plants upside down in a garage, shed, basement or under an overhang – somewhere outdoors with shelter.
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Use rope, twine or hooks to hang plants securely from rafters, beams, or hooks.
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Leave any remaining fruit on the plants. The stem connections keep ripening mechanisms working.
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Periodically check plants and pick fully ripened red tomatoes as they finish over subsequent weeks.
The key theory is that while the plant is alive, it continues transporting sugars and hormones like ethylene to the fruit, assisting ripening. Removing the tomatoes would disrupt this.
Tips for Success with Upside Down Tomato Ripening
To master this unconventional ripening tactic and get the most tomatoes, follow these tips:
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When inverting, be gentle with the plant to avoid dislodging tomatoes.
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Choose an area protected from hard frost but avoid direct sun hitting the plants.
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Space hanging plants for good airflow and leave foliage on for extra ripening power.
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Check plants every 2-3 days for red ripe tomatoes to pick and use quickly at peak flavor.
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Rotate or gently shake plants periodically to prevent flattened spots on tomatoes.
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Try both determinate and indeterminate varieties – both can ripen well inverted.
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Time upside down ripening to avoid heavy prolonged rains which can quickly rot tomatoes.
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Be patient – the process can take 3-4 weeks but results in vine-ripened flavor.
Reap the Rewards of Your Upside Down Harvest
While it may look strange at first, suspending your green tomato-laden plants upside down is worth a try when cold weather approaches. You’ll be amazed at the ripened tomatoes you can harvest, weeks after pulling plants.
Don’t resign yourself to a disappointing early end to fresh tomato enjoyment. Harness the power of your plants’ natural ripening hormones with this simple upside down trick. Your hanging tomato plants will pay you back with vine-ripened flavor straight through fall’s first frosts.
What are the advantages of growing tomato plants upside down?
Gardening in small spaces is easy when you grow tomato plants upside down. This is especially true if you are gardening in a small garden or on a balcony or patio. Hanging tomato plants upside down not only makes more room on the ground, but the plants can also be moved around to get full sun and shelter from bad weather.
Lessens the chance of pests It also stops stems breaking from the weight of the.
tomatoes. If you hang something upside down, you don’t have to stake it, and good air flow lowers the risk of soil-borne diseases.
No need for staking: For some people staking tomato plants is enjoyable, whilst for others it is tiresome. Hanging tomatoes upside down allows the plant to vine out naturally as it would in the wild. The main reason we stake them is so that we get to eat them before other creatures do. Most people who grow tomato plants upside down don’t have to prune them or get rid of the suckers that would take up a lot of space if they were grown the normal way.
Weeds often don’t grow backwards, so you don’t have to worry about them getting in the way of your tomato plant.
What are the disadvantages of growing tomatoes upside down?
More watering is needed: Tomatoes grown in hanging baskets or containers need more watering than tomatoes planted in the ground. Covering the soil with straw or mulch helps keep water from evaporating, but it doesn’t solve the problem completely. For some growers, the leaves of tomato plants are more likely to get sick because the main stem is in the hole where the extra water drains out. When you water the plant, the main stem and some leaves get wet, which can cause disease. Apparently, spraying the plant with more organic pesticide can help fix this problem.
Only good for certain types: upside-down tomato planters work well with small types like grape and patio tomatoes, but they don’t work well with heavier types like beefsteak tomatoes because they break their stems when they try to hold their weight.
They are heavy: These plants can be super heavy and near impossible to move when just watered. They also need to be very securely attached to the wall they’re hanging on so they don’t fall off.
Problems with the vines: Since they aren’t staked down, the plants can move around in strong winds, which can break the vines. Due to phototropism, the vines want to grow naturally upwards and towards the sun resulting in U-shaped bends.
Lack of sunlight: Tomatoes grown upside down can struggle to get enough light. There are nearly always some of the tomatoes shaded by container in which they are grown in.